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Jerome Increase Case
Jerome Increase Case (1819-1891) was born in 1819 to a New York State farming family. He founded the company of J.I. Case that became the Case Corporation. As a young child, Case read an article in the Genessee Farmer magazine about a machine that could cut wheat without people needing to use their hands to aid it. He developed an interest in agriculture at that point. In 1831, the first reaper machine was demonstrated at Steele's Tavern, Virginia, by Cyrus Hall McCormick (McCormick Tractor). This moment has been considered by many agriculture experts as a key moment in farming history. Jerome Increase Case took a small, hand-powered threshing machine from Williamstown, New York to Rochester, Wisconsin, where he fixed the machine and established the J I Case company. In 1843, J I Case thresher moved to Racine, Wisconsin, in order to have better access to water and facilities where more threshers could be built and repaired. In 1863, Case sought partnership with three other farmers, Massena Erskine, Robert Baker and Stephen Bull. These four would later be nicknamed "the big four" of the farming industry. In 1842, Case created the J. I. Case Company. Jerome Increase Case was noted for the developer of the Case Thresher, perhaps the first application of the steam engine for agricultural use. Case was also involved in politics, becoming mayor of Racine three times, and state senato twice. He was also involved in other endeavors, such as science, the art, and banking, and was president of several Racine agricultural associations. He was also a racehorse owner. Competition in the farm business J I Case introduced an Eagle logo for the first time in 1865 after a legendary Wisconsin Civil War Regiment's mascot. Case constructed his first portable steam engine in 1869, an engine used to power wheat threshers. This engine is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. Case won first place at the 1879 Paris Exposition in France for his thresher; this was the first thresher sent abroad by the Case company and was the first of thousands which would later be exported internationally. It is at this time that Case created his first self-propelled traction engine, with a drive mechanism on one of his portable engines. Meanwhile, in 1871 the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the McCormick factory. Despite Case's offer to help McCormick with the manufacturing of their machines, McCormick Company refused the offer and a new facility, called the McCormick Works was built, in southwest Chicago. The McCormick company introduced the first of many twine binder machines in 1881, leading to the so called Harvester Wars that gained the attention of the farm industry during the 1880s. (An interesting bit of trivia: this also was the origin of the generic term 'binder' or 'corn binder' for any International Harvester tractor or truck by fans (or detractors) even to this day.) Another interesting piece of trivia: Case made a visit to a farm named after him in Minnesota during 1884, upon receiving news that one of his thresher machines was not working. Infuriated by the fact that he could not fix the machine himself, he set it ablaze the next day, and sent the owner a brand new thresher machine upon return to Wisconsin. In 1890, the Case Company expanded to South America, opening a factory in Argentina. In 1891, the company's founder, Jerome Increase Case, died at age 72. By this time the Case company produced portable steam engines to power the threshing machines, and later went into the steam traction engine business. By the turn of the century Case was the most prolific North American builder of engines: these ranged in size from the diminutive 9 HP, to the standard 15, 25, 30, 40, 50, 65 HP and up to the plowing 75 and 80 HP sizes. Case also made the large 110 HP breaking engines with its notable two story cab. Nine massive 150 HP hauling engines were made, in addition to steam rollers. Case engines were noted for their use of Woolf valve gear, feedwater heaters, and the iconic 'eagle' smokebox covers. References External Links * Biographical Sketch with portrait photo Category:1819 births Category:1891 deaths Category:People Category:Inventors Category:People from the United States